SITE
The earliest hurtle to overcome was to find an acceptable site for the Gates. The original location is now the parking lane on El Camino Real (ECR) at street address 989. (About 1940, ECR was widened to the west in downtown Menlo Park.) A location on private land near the ECR/Ravenswood intersection couldn't be agreed on by the owner. Eventually the City agreed to the Gates being located on the City campus, with the City waiving any cost incurred on their part. So the next hurtle was to agree on a specific site on the campus. Ernst wanted a location next to the sidewalk opposite Noel Drive. Then in August 2017, Arrillaga's offered to build a new library put the question of the Gates site--in fact the whole project--on hold. Finally in November 2017, following the MPHA Annual Meeting, Councilperson Ohtaki proposed the Gates should just be installed without worrying about a possible interference with a future library construction.
Based on decision to go ahead with construction, the Project submitted a complete drawing package to the City on January 3, 2018, based on the site location opposite Noel Drive.
Meanwhile the site opposite Noel Drive had never been officially approved by the City. While alternate sites on campus were being investigated by the Project, Council Persons Carlton and Keith suggested the Gates be installed over the sidewalk on Alma Street near Ravenswood Avenue in such a manner as to be readily visible from Ravenswood and also from south-bound Caltrain trains. This required redoing the landscape plan, which Matt Richardson, a landscape architect working under Keith Willig quickly accomplished.
It should be noted that all the professional design work by the Meissners, Sinnott, Willig, Richardson, and Cynthia Lewis (the professional engineer who did the strength calculations) was done pro bono.
INITIAL FUNDING CAMPAIGN
The most difficult part of the project has been obtaining adequate funding. The original concept was that this should be a community-funded effort, and indeed the community has responded generously. But estimates for the cost of the project have grown substantially with time, from $64,000 in June 2016, to $97,000 today as construction and installation begins. By early 2017, the Project had raised almost $43,000, approximately half the expected cost. At Councilperson Mueller's suggestion, the Gates Project requested and at its March 13, 2017 meeting the City Council granted the Project a matching fund of $43,000. This in principle settled the funding issue. Details of this initial funding campaign can be found at the initial Project Site on the Menlo Gates page of the MPHA home page.
CLIMBING THE OFFICIAL LADDER
To begin construction, we needed the Building Department to issue a permit for the construction/installation. With an approved permit in hand, with a solid detailed estimate, and with a signed contract by the builder (Sam Sinnott & Co Inc), we needed a signed agreement between the City and MPHA governing the transfer of the $43,000 in matching funds. This agreement was signed at the end of October 2018.
Note: The construction contract is between Sam Sinnott & Co Inc and MPHA. The agreement for the matching fund is between the City and MPHA.
THE FINAL FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
In reworking the estimate in preparation for the Agreement with the City, costs were found to have risen significantly. The new and final estimate requires an additional $14,000. To avoid future additional costs, the contract signed with the construction contractor, Sam Sinnott & Co, guarantees a top cost of $97,000. This cost includes a 13% contingency.